Sidney Ranum, 93, died Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012 at Pioneer Memorial Care center, Erskine.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 5 (today) at 10:30 AM at the Viking Covenant Church at Viking, with Rev. Jim Robberstad officiating. Casket bearers include Lowell Ranum (son), Jerry Ranum (son), Curtis Ranum (son), Bryan Ranum (grandson), Larry Beito (nephew) and Rick Beito (nephew. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church on Wednesday.
Sidney Kenneth Ranum was born to Alfred and Hulda Ranum on the family farm near Wannaska, Roseau County, on Oct. 15, 1919. He lived with his parents in Golden Valley Township, Roseau County, until his mother died in 1924. After his mother passed away, he lived in Fairview, Mont., with an aunt and uncle for a few years, then returned to Minnesota to live with his father in Viking. He went to Solem Township school near Viking until the sixth grade. In the Viking area, he worked as a farm hand, milking cows, driving horses and various other chores caring for livestock. He became a mechanic in later years, worked on cars in Holt, Newfolden, Warren and for the International Harvester dealership in Stephen, prior to moving to Southern California.
In 1942, he married Clarice Rose Sagstuen of Holt, and in the fall of 1951, the family with five children, moved to southern California. The family grew to eight children and he continued to work mostly as a mechanic on cars, trucks and oil field equipment until retirement in the 1970s.
He and Clarice returned to Minnesota in 1990. He lived in Viking until January 2007, when failing health caused a move to Valley Home in Thief River Falls. He lived at Valley Home until June 2010, then moved to Pioneer Memorial Care Center in Erskine, after breaking a hip. He enjoyed hunting, deep sea fishing, and particularly liked hill climbing on motorcycles. He occasionally played an accordion when he was younger. He also liked to listen to country western and Mexican music, he valued quality tools and liked a funny story.
He is survived by his sons and their families: Lowell and Dani Ranum, Bemidji, Jerry and Evie Ranum, Georgetown, Texas, Curtis and Pauline Ranum, Waleska, Ga., Mrs. Charles (Mary) Ranum, Oxnard, Calif., Ken and Julie Ranum, Bothell, Wash.; his daughters and their families: Karen and Bud Robinson, Hackett, Ariz., Barbara and Jim Holland, Bakersfield, Calif., Lorie and Tony Ped, Williamsburg, Va.; half-sisters: Delores Forland, Sherwin, Kan., Margaret Lind, Savage; stepbrother Bud Ranum, North Branch; his grandchildren; several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife Clarice; son Charles, his parents; his brothers: Glenn, Johnny, Sanford, Stanley, Knute, Lloyd, and one unnamed baby boy; his sisters: Isabel Krohn, Florence Ueland, Elsie Hodik, Alice Kezar; stepbrothers, Maynard Ranum and Oral Ranum; and stepsister, Marceline Grundhaus.